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Tip

If you want to use a slow cooker...

Place half the cumin seeds, half the chilli flakes, the oil, carrots, lentils and 700ml stock into your slow cooker pot. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours until the lentils are tender. Dry-fry the remaining cumin seeds and chilli flakes just until fragrant. When the lentils are done, stir in the milk and whizz up the soup depending on how chunky you'd like it.

Tip

Make it Moroccan

Substitute the chilli flakes and cumin seeds for a few teaspoons of harissa paste. You could add cooked shredded chicken at the end of cooking, too.

Tip

Make it dairy-free

For a richer but dairy-free alternative, use a can of reduced-fat coconut milk instead of the milk.

Method

Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the cumin seeds and chilli flakes for 1 min, or until they
start to jump around the pan and release their aromas. Scoop out about half of the seeds with
a spoon and set aside. Add the oil, carrot, lentils, stock and milk to the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15 mins until the lentils have swollen and softened.

Whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky if you prefer). Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the reserved toasted spices. Serve with warmed naan breads.

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Comments, questions and tips

Comments

gorgeous soup!! really healthy, warming and filling! left out the oil and the milk. added extra chilli as I like my food with a bit of a kick! give it a go you will not be disappointed! this is far from bland as other comments suggested!

We really enjoyed this agree the recipe is a good base to adapt. I used half the main ingredients kept the cumin seeds the same and used 3 pitches chilli flakes as we like spice and left them all in. I substituted milk with more water as wanted to keep it dairy free! Also left out the oil and added about 1tbsp garlic granules.

First time of making this today and it was goooooood. Added a little more chilli and some chick peas after it had been blitzed in the blender. Served with a warm crusty baguette and it went down a treat:)

As I follow the 5 2 diet i omitted the oil (about 240 calories) and it seems fine although not tried it yet.....can you tell me is the calorie count per portion or for whole amount as its not clear....thank you

Made this soup yesterday, it was lovely but I had to add quite a lot more chilli flakes as I couldn't taste any heat. Seasoned with a little salt and plenty of pepper it is delicious, and even better the next day.

Delicious, fiery soup. Could work with some more meat/veg and rice served as a curry.
I didn't have cumin seeds/chilli flakes, so just used 1 tsp cumin powder and 1/2 tsp chilli powder. Also added 2 chopped apples- a great twist on an already lovely soup.

I'm really surprised that people commented saying this was bland, as I have recently made it and it was far from bland! I added a garlic clove and plenty of salt and it was delicious. Very easy to make in the slow cooker and made my house smell wonderful all afternoon. I added a can of coconut milk instead of normal milk which made the soup really creamy and tasty. Even better warmed up for my lunch today. To those that are coughing after toasting the spices - I think you might be burning them. I only toasted them for a minute or so on a low heat and didn't have this problem, but it still brought out the lovely flavour.

I've added some garlic too and some smoked paprika. It was delicious, you are right.
And to those ones who are burning the spices... Well... I am making it in my multicooker Redmond m110 and it is impossible to burn anything in it. So maybe that's what you should do, 'cause this soup is sooo tasty!

I'm not sure if I did something wrong here. As some others have commented, I coughed and spluttered for about twenty minutes after dry frying the cumin and chilli flakes. Perhaps I burnt them? I did adhere to the recipe but this was way too hot for me...my mouth was on fire after eating. Added extra milk but it made little difference. If I make this again I will half the cumin and make sure my pinch of chilli flakes is a modest one! I think I'd have enjoyed it if it hadn't blew my head off..

I had to try out this recipe due to the high ratings it has received. Tasted delicious and not too spicy which was great. Dry frying the spices really caught the back of my throat and left my coughing for a while! Also grating all the carrots took a while but it was worth it. I will definitely be making it again as it was so quick and cheap to make :)

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